


A Tribute To The (mostly) Deceased

by protectchatnoir



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Gen, Haha Sorry, also the adrienette crush is reversed so it's actually Adrien who's crushing, but it's not overly shippy, don't even ask what this is, help meeeeeee, here have the au that nobody asked for, mostly Alya and Nino centric I think, no kwami au, no superpowers, not graphic violence but there are like zombies so read at ur own risk, people die but not major characters, rated for kinda gross violence stuff, that's it really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-09
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-01-31 07:09:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12676914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/protectchatnoir/pseuds/protectchatnoir
Summary: When a terrorist going by the name of Hawkmoth causes many deaths, things are bad.Naturally, they get worse when the corpses decide to dig their way out of the ground.A no superpower AU in which there are um... zombies





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It started with a grave robbery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh help idk what I'm actually doing

Chapter One

It started with a grave robbery.

And then another, and another.

Actually, no: it started with a death.

***

It was a Tuesday. A boring, incredibly slow Tuesday. The time was 5:22 p.m. and Alya Césaire was in the park, waiting for her friends to show up. Although Marinette tended to turn up late for social gatherings, it was unlike Adrien and Nino to be tardy. 

She checked her phone to see no new messages, contemplating calling them. What was the point though? They'd probably forgotten that they were supposed to be meeting anyway. Generally Alya arranged meeting outside of school, and the others had a habit of not showing. Not because they didn't care, but because Paris was a big city, and a lot went on there; something had probably distracted them. 

That thought worried Alya - what if something had happened? She stood up from the bench she had been perching on, and paced up and down a little before hitting Nino's number on her mobile.

Adrien answered.

'Alya! Um, I'm sorry we were so late. I'll be there in literally thirty seconds.'

Before she could answer, he hung up.

Glancing up, the brunette saw him around twenty feet away, jogging towards her. He reached her in less than half a minute. 

'Hi,' he puffed. 'I'm sorry, I... ran here from... school... lemme get my breath back...'

Adrien bent over with his hands on his knees as Alya tapped her foot impatiently. 

'Well? I'm waiting. You're going to tell me why you're-' she checked her watch- 'twenty two minutes and twelve seconds late, aren't you? And where are the others?'

 

If Adrien knew anything, he knew not to make Alya mad, so he quickly stood up straight again. He flashed her his best I'm-a-model-who-forgot-to-breathe-for-a-while smile.

'Yeah... sorry, I tried to call you, but...'

 

She raised an eyebrow slightly threateningly. 'Yes?'

 

'Um, Mari and Nino are still at school. They, ahh, nominated me to come get you.'

 

'Get me?'

 

'Yeah. There's some... potential danger. We should probably go and get inside.'

 

Alya's expression changed from annoyed to frightened.

'What? Is it that "Hawkmoth" freak again?'

 

He nodded.

 

'Oh god. Anyone hurt this time?'

 

The blonde grimaced.

'Uhh... yes. Someone... Alya, someone was killed.'

 

She gasped. It had been several weeks since the first attack, but no one had _died_. 

'What?! Who?'

 

'I don't know. Some, uh, kid from school. Not in our class. Ninth grade, I think.'

 

You're joking. He killed a _ninth grader_?'

 

'Yeah. Listen, Alya, we should go... if he tries another attack...'

 

The brunette nodded. 'Where are we hiding? School?'

 

'Yep. I'd better text Nino, he'll be worried. Let's go.'

***

When they arrived at the school, Marinette greeted Alya with a hug and winked at Adrien, who blushed and seemed to develop an interest in his shoes.

Nino hugged her as well, and then dragged Adrien away to talk to him about what was going on. 

'Alya, I'm so glad you're safe,' her friend said in a hushed whisper. 'I was really worried, but the teacher's wouldn't let me leave. We managed to sneak Adrien out to get you though. Are you okay?'

 

'Yeah,' she replied. 'What actually happened? He told me that... that someone was...'

 

Marinette sighed. 'Yeah. It's getting... out of hand.'

 

'We need to do something about it. This "Hawkmoth" dude can't just hide behind his stupid disguise and send out his stupid minions to _kill_ people!'

 

The two friends were quiet as the truth sank in. Evidently he could hide behind his stupid disguise and send out his stupid minions to kill people. Evidently he was getting away with it.

 

'What we need,' Alya declared. 'Is a hero. Like Ladybug and Chat Noir in that stupid video game you're obsessed with.'

 

'Hey!' the bluenette protested. 'I'm hardly _obsessed_ with Miraculous. And anyway, Alya, they're fictional characters from a computer game. Super powers aren't real, you know.'

 

'Well, duh. But we do need _someone_ to stand up to Hawkmoth. If other people get hurt...'

 

They fell into silence again as they waited outside their classroom for someone to annouce that it was safe to go outside.

 

'You could do it. You make a great Ladybug when we play Miraculous.'

 

'Are you joking? Okay, I can do backflips on a video game, but you know how clumsy I am in real life.'

 

'C'mon, Mari, we're not actually fighting him. We just need, like, a symbol of resistance against his stupid-ass terror attacks! Like Katniss in the Hunger Games. The Mockingjay, or something.'

 

'I don't know. I've not seen those films for ages. Anyway, Katniss wasn't just a "symbol of resistance". She fought people too. I don't wanna fight people!'

 

Alya rolled her eyes. 

'Let's just hope these attacks don't get worse then.'

***

But they did get worse. In a few months, ten people were dead and over thirty hospitalised.

 

Nino peered up over his newspaper at Adrien who was perched on the wall next to him. They were a few blocks from school, and had stopped for coffee on the way home.

The blonde stared into the distance, apparently lost in thought, sipping on his cappuccino. 

'Did you hear about the grave robbery?' Nino asked. That snapped his friend back to reality.

 

'What?!'

 

'Yeah. One of Hawkmoth's victims.'

 

'Really?'

 

'Mm. The first one, actually. That ninth grade girl.'

 

'But that was like, two months ago! Wouldn't she be rotten by now?'

 

An uncomfortable silence fell over them.

 

'Sorry. That, ah, sounded really disrespectful. I just mean... what could someone want with a body from two months ago?'

 

Nodding, Nino shrugged. 'No idea. You gotta be pretty twisted, right?'

 

Adrien hummed in agreement and they both went quiet again. The silence was interrupted by Nino muttering. 'Oh, that's creepy.'

 

'Sorry? What's creepy?'

 

'Says in the paper that they examined the coffin and there were like, scratch marks on the inside of the lid.'

 

'Really? That's odd.' Adrien budged closer to him and read the paper over his shoulder. 'They think she was buried alive?'

 

'Maybe. That, or she crawled her way out of her own grave.'

 

Nino had meant it as a joke, but he saw Adrien shudder next to him. It had probably sounded a little... well, grave.

 

'Dude, I was kidding.'

 

'I know. But, what if-'

 

'No buts. No ifs. She's _dead_ , Adrien. If she crawled outta her grave, she'd have to be alive. And if she's been in there for more than two months, what are the chances of her still being alive?'

 

'Well-'

 

'Slim to none. Exactly. End of story.'

 

Nino flipped through the paper to the sports page, finding a slightly more cheery story about some hockey player who was hit in the face.

He pretended not to hear what Adrien said next.

He tried to ignore the cold sensation running down his spine.

 

But for the next few days he couldn't get his best friend's sincerely whispered words out of his head.

 

'What if she wasn't alive? What if she was still dead when she crawled out of her grave?'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I hope you liked it anyways! Idk where this is going yet. Obviously Think Fast, Act Faster is my main focus but I think this will be updating too, if people are interested. And then we have the Hogwarts!AU which will be coming soon I swear xD  
> But I have a few fics planned so i wanted to get a chapter out just to see where it goes.  
> Find me on tumblr @protectchatnoir  
> ;)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Late night (or early morning) conversations about zombies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is a thing that I'm doing, I guess. Welcome the zombies.
> 
> So, this chapter is where the creepy(ish)ness begins, I assume if you're reading this you're okay with zombies - it's not really scary, but there are some, well... zombies. ;)
> 
> If you want more detail about this fic in case you're worried about creepiness, feel free to shoot me an ask on tumblr (see notes below) :)
> 
> Like I say, don't expect anything too scary. It's just your typical zombie apocalypse I guess.  
> Enjoy!~

Chapter Two 

In the week that prevailed, there were two more grave robberies. Although it frightened everyone a little, Nino felt an inexplicable sense of dread. Surely this was just some twisted person with a twisted mind doing something twisted. Right?

But Nino felt uncomfortable. He had slept uneasily for more than one night that week. Apparently he wasn't the only one. 

His phone chimed loudly, waking him from a bad dream. Even though he couldn't really remember the details of the dream, he knew it was the same old nightmare about corpses digging out of their graves.

Adrien's words had really left a mark on him. Sighing, Nino reached over to check his phone.

 

ALYA  (00:01a.m.): Hi 

ALYA (00:01a.m.): sorry it's late i can't sleep 

NINO (00:02a.m.): it's okay. I can't sleep either

NINO  (00:03a.m.): when I do, I have nightmares anyway xD

ALYA (00:04a.m.): .. was that laughing face ironic?

ALYA (00:07a.m.): Nino??

NINO (00:11a.m.): yeah. It was ironic.

ALYA (00:12a.m.): oh. What are your nightmares about?

NINO (00:15a.m.): you know they grave robberies? Adrien made some joke about them like.. crawling outta their graves

NINO (00:16a.m.): at least I think he was joking. I know it's stupid I just keep dreaming about it.

ALYA (00:20a.m.): it's not stupid. Mari made a joke about a zombie apocalypse. I'm having zombie dreams now.

NINO (00:22a.m.): have u spoken to someone about it?

ALYA (00:23a.m.): other than you? No

ALYA (00:25a.m.): I know it's stupid. It just feels..

NINO (00:26a.m.): real?

ALYA (00:27a.m.): yeah. I have to go

NINO (00:27a.m.): why?

NINO (00:29a.m.): Alyyyaaaaa??

***

Alya dropped her phone onto the bed the second she heard it. A light tapping sound from outside. She moved over to the window and looked outside; on the pavement below a shadowy figure stood, tapping their foot in what seemed like an impatient manner. 

 

At first, Alya thought nothing of it. Paris was a big city. People stayed out late - it wasn't unusual for people to be out in the early hours of the morning. 

 

So it seemed like a relatively normal thing for someone to be standing outside her house. Until the figure turned to look at her, that is. It was hard to tell if the person was male or female; or even a person at all, in fact. Now that it was facing her, the moonlight and street lamps illuminated its features, and she could tell that its eyes were large and pale, a milky white colour. It had hair, of a sort, which hung in lank, scraggly tendrils down its back.

The skin of this... creature seemed paper thin and a dull grey in colour.

 

Alya wanted to scream, but no sound escaped her mouth. She recoiled back from the window and fell backwards onto her bed, breathing heavily. What was that... _thing_? With trembling fingers, Alya reached for her phone and opened the camera, moving cautiously towards the window again. If she could take a picture of it, hopefully that would make her seem a little less crazy when she told her classmates. She aimed the phone camera towards the figure, and-

 

it was gone.

 

The brunette gasped, shaking her head in confusion. Where _was_ it? Glancing down at her phone, she decided maybe it would be a good idea to call someone. Someone who would believe her.

 

***

 

Nino and Adrien sat on the wall which had become something of a hangout for them. It was only eight a.m. so they still had a little while before having to head to school.

 

Adrien kicked his legs, looking a little  distracted. 

 

'You okay, dude?'

 

The blonde snapped his head up, smiling bashfully.

'Yeah. I was just thinking about... I dunno, maybe I'll... ask Marinette out?'

 

Nino folded his newspaper, sighing. That boy was a disaster. He tried to ask her out at least twice a week, and needless to say it never went anywhere.

'Okay. What's the plan this time?'

 

Adrien glowered at him. 'Hey, you say that like I don't try. I _do_ try, as a matter of fact. At least I try. When are you gonna ask Alya out, anyway?'

 

He choked on his coffee. ' _What_?' Nino wheezed. 'Are you _joking_? Alya's just a _friend_ , bro.'

 

Pouting slightly, Adrien shrugged his shoulders. 'Whatever. It's obvious you like her. C'mon, you text each other at like, one a.m. - no one _does_ that with "friends". Believe me, I'd know. _Marinette_ doesn't text _me_ at one a.m.'

 

'Which reminds me. Alya called me last night- uh, this morning, I mean. She said she saw someone outside her house. Looked really creepy, she said.'

 

'Do you believe her?'

 

'Hey, did you read the news yet?'

 

Nino was keen to change the subject. He wasn't really sure if he believed her. They had just been talking about their nightmares, so it was possible she'd just dreamt it. He wanted to believe her though.

 

'No,' Adrien muttered. 'What's the news?'

 

'The news is a type of media, typically newspapers or television, which tells us what's going on in the world.'

 

He squealed as Adrien elbowed him.

'You know what I _mean_ ,' his friend moaned. 

 

'Ow. That hurt. The news is that... there have been a few more... missing bodies. The cases are down as grave robberies, but I'm not convinced.'

 

'What do you mean, you're not convinced?'

 

'I mean...' 

Nino sighed. It was going to sound crazy, at the least. 

'Y'know what you said a while back about people digging themselves out of their graves?'

 

They both fell silent for a minute before Adrien turned to meet his eyes.

'You mean... you think they're, like... zombies?'

 

Nino laughed. 'You say it like that, it just... I... yeah.'

 

'Okay, I know I was the one to mention the crawly-outta-their-grave thing first, but that's... seriously crazy. This is the real world. Zombies aren't real, right?'

 

'Well, there's no proof of that, and judging by the hundreds of years' records of supernatural experiences, I'd say-'

 

Nino stopped before he could finish. Was he really defending the existence of _zombies_?

 

'You know what, just forget it. You're right, it's crazy. Zombies don't exist.'

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ya that's a thing that.. um.. happened, I guess.  
> Idk what I'm doing here btw I wrote this by accident  
> Anyways same stuff as always:  
> Not sure where this is going but I will keep writing it  
> Think Fast, Act Faster is still my main priority  
> Hogwarts!AU is in the works and will be up soonish.
> 
> I'm protectchatnoir on tumblr if you wanna find me there, it's totally cool to send an ask if you have an idea/request for a fanfiction, or if you have any questions- or just to chat!!
> 
> As always feedback and stuff if appreciated sooo much, I love hearing from you guys!
> 
> So, yah! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and although I don't have a regular schedule for this fic, chapter three might be up on Friday along with TFAF chapter eleven! Wow! :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suspicions and realisations prevail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, I haven't forgotten this, don't worry ;D 
> 
> So guys I'm not really sure how to go about trigger warnings and stuff with this fic because it's like fantasy/horror, so I'm just kinda assuming that if you're reading this, you're fine with the, umm... zombies? Like it's not too creepy or gory or anything but some people might find it creepy? Idk  
> Well anyways I'm warning you now but it might be mildly creepy in places so consider yourself warned ;)

 

Chapter Three

Nino flicked the television on without high expectations for anything exciting or interesting, but the evening news immediately caught his attention. Nadja Chamack was talking earnestly about something or another, and a fuzzy picture of a local cemetery popped up on screen. He reached for the remote and turned the volume up, just catching the word 'zombies'.

_No way._

The cemetery on the screen was dark, seemingly late at night, and there was a blurry figure a few metres from the camera between the  headstones. Squinting at the image, Nino frowned. Surely they weren't _actually_ labelling this unidentifiable figure as a zombie? Nadja looked pretty amused by the whole thing.

"So, viewers, what do you think? Is it just somebody talking a late night stroll through a graveyard, or something... supernatural?" 

The news presenter laughed as the image shrunk down to a smaller size into the corner of the screen.

"In all seriousness though, Mayor Bourgeois has decided that, with all the recent attacks and grave robberies, all Paris cemeteries will be strictly out of bounds during night time. There will be police tape up around some places, and in others, gates will be locked. We will be taking all the necessary precautions to ensure no more crime takes place in our city. And make sure to lock your doors, you wouldn't want the zombies getting in!"

She winked and began talking about something else. Nino pressed the mute button and frowned. It was _weird_. Here they were making jokes about zombies on TV, and yet he was still having the same old dreams about zombies.

He took his phone out of his pocket and dialled Alya's number. She picked up almost immediately and started practically yelling down the phone.

" _Nino! Did you_ hear _the news? It's so frustrating! They can't just take something as serious as this and make one big joke out of it! Okay, yeah, zombies, ha ha, but people are_ dying _. They shouldn't be making it into a joke, right? I mean, it's hardly like-"_

 

"Whoa, whoa, Alya. Slow down. I only caught half of the news, so I don't really know what's going on?"

 

" _Oh. Basically, some idiot took a really back photo of some other idiot walking in a cemetery and put it on Facebook with the caption 'lock your doors, zombies on the loose!' or something ridiculous. And so the picture was on the news and everyone's making a huge deal out of it and it's so_ frustrating!"

 

"Oh." Nino laughed shakily. "I was kinda starting to worry there were _actually_ zombies on the loose."

He could practically feel her glaring at him down the phone. 

 

" _Nino! This is so not funny! People are dying and their bodies are going missing and I'm still pretty shaken up from seeing that... thing... outside my house yesterday because I swear I was not dreaming and it's eyes were really creepy and- yeah? Hang on, let me just- Nino, I'll call you back, okay?"_

 

"Wait, what? Alya, what's going on?"

 

" _Ugh, nothing, it's just... I need to just- I_ know _, I'm coming!- help Mari with something. I'm at her house, we're devising a plan."_

 

"A... plan? For what?''

 

" _Nevermind_."

***

Alya hung up and turned to Marinette. 

" _Mari_ ! I was on the _phone_!"

 

"I know. I was just, like... wondering what we're actually doing? I mean, I know you said we're coming up with a plan, but... you never told me what we're planning."

 

"Pfft, I thought it was obvious! We need to take down Hawkmoth."

 

Her bluenette friend groaned.

"Alya, I told you already, I'm not being your stupid Mockingjay!"

 

"What _ever_. Forget the Hunger Games, this is real life! And he is really real, and he is a threat!"

 

She paused for dramatic effect. 

"And we need a _hero_."

 

Marinette snorted.

 

" _Hey_ !" Alya demanded indignantly. "Did you just _snort_?"

 

She snorted again.

"No, I- yes, I didn't- it's just-"

Dropping to her bedroom floor, Marinette collapsed into a fit of giggles.

"Alya, you're so- so funny!" The bluenette howled in laughter, tears now streaming down her face. Alya glared down at her.

"What?" she snapped. "I'm just being realistic."

 

At this, Mari laughed even harder. "Real- real- _realistic_?!" She slammed her hand into the floor, cackling. 

 

"Fine, if you're not going to take this seriously, I guess I'll just go home." Alya picked up her bag and stormed out of the room, stopping to yell, "Don't worry, dear best friend of mine. I'll just go face the serial killer on my own."

***

It wasn't until she was out of the bakery that she realised how dark it was outside, and remembered the figure standing below her window the night before. Alya shuddered and picked up her pace, almost jogging to get home as quickly as possible. She decided to take a shortcut through some alleyways, which would pretty much cut the journey in half.

"Okay, Césaire. You can do this," she muttered. "It's just... a dark, dirty back alley in the late evening with no end of hiding places for creepy creepy creepers-" 

Alya whispered and walked a little faster. It was unlike her to get so worked up about something as lame as walking in a dark alley, but judging by all the recent murders-  a sudden shiver ran down her spine and an ominous feeling of being watched washed over her body. A low and rasping breathing sound came from behind her. She stopped still and turned around slowly in dread. 

_Don't panic, don't panic, don't-_

A figure stood in front of her, blocking out the slither of light from the low hanging moon. 

_Should I run, or..?_

They appeared to be wearing a black dress, ripped in places. Despite the dress there was nothing remotely feminine about the person, although it was too dark to make out their features. With shaking hands, Alya pulled her phone from her pocket, flipped its built in torch on and aimed at the person's face. She let out a strangled cry as she saw their features: a few straggly clumps of hair hanging limply from the head, shallow cheeks, the skin thin, slightly shrivelled. Its eyes were milkly white, reflecting the phone's beam. It opened its mouth to reveal a few yellowing teeth and let out an ungodly rasping noise. Overall it was similar to the apparition she'd seen outside her window the night before.

But this... this was real. It was like a human, in a way. 

Recalling various ghost stories she'd heard over the years, Alya new this couldn't be some kind of spirit or poltergeist- it was here, really here, on the physical plane of existence, in the flesh. And its flesh was greyish and rotting, damp in places, dry and crumbling in others, as thin as paper and stretched over its protruding bones. 

Alya tried to scream, but no sound came out. She backed away, and turned to run. And although the _thing_ made no attempt to chase her, she still charged at full speed all the way home. It was only when she was locked in her room and reaching for her mobile phone to dial Nino that she realised she didn't have her phone. 

 

_No. No, no no! I must have dropped it when I was running from.._

 

What _was_  that thing? And the similar looking thing from the night before? Was she going insane, or was something else going on?

 

Sighing, Alya remembered earlier the same day trying to plan some way of taking down Hawkmoth. That seemed meaningless now- what threat was a serial killer if they were faced with...

 

Did she dare give a name to the creatures which had haunted her nightmares for a while? Did she dare address her suspicions and label those terrible creatures as 'zombies'?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooooooooooohhhh!  
> Oh okay that.. that just happened
> 
> I hope you're enjoying this fic already, and if you have any feedback or questions then please leave them in the comments or send me an ask on tumblr @protectchatnoir.
> 
> If you haven't already feel free to check out my main fic, Think Fast, Act Faster. It's my main focus so it's a lot longer already, and there will be more chapters in the long run. Oh, and it's pretty angsty, sooo.... ;D 
> 
> Well, until next chapter!~
> 
> (Which should be soon, I hope to get a few more out this year xD)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're starting to admit that maybe they're /not/ crazy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi folks, sorry this has chapter has taken awhile! I wanted to get it right and also I've been focused on Think Fast (and a Voltron AU which may be up soon!!) but here we are, hope you enjoy it!! :D  
> Btw I might change the tags/ warning after the fighting begins because it miiight get gory? Idk lemme know what you think

Chapter Four

 

A week had passed and she was still shaken up. Hawkmoth had been worryingly quiet. She had a dreadful feeling that he was planning something big. Nino knew about her second experience with one of the... one of the.. _zombies_.

 

He knew. He understood. He believed her. Adrien and Marinette knew. Whether they believed or not was a different question, but...

 

Alya wasn't sure if she believed it herself. Perhaps it was just her imagination running wild. Maybe she was going mad.

But everybody knew that _Marinette_ was the one with the over active imagination; Alya was down to earth, _sensible_ ,- everybody knew that.

 

But now... now she wasn't so sure.

 

Nino believed her, but there was still the slightest chance that she could be insane.

 

There was, that is, until Nino saw one for himself.

 

He'd called her at about ten p.m., in a breathless and panicky state.

 _"Alya!"_ he'd screeched down the phone. _"I saw one, I saw it, I-"_

He'd mumbled incoherently for a minute before letting out a strangled sob. _"Either we're both crazy, we're both in a wacky nightmare, someone is messing with us big-time or there are actually actual real zombies in Paris."_

 

Ah well, at least she wasn't alone in her insanity. 

 

***

 

Okay, so at first, maybe he'd doubted her _just_ a little. But when one of your best friends is claiming to have seen _two_ zombie-like creatures, it can be a little hard to believe. Anyway, after over a week since the first sighting, Nino was beginning to believe her for certain. Because why would she lie, right?

 

Or maybe Alya was just totally mad. Or maybe she was hallucinating, or-

 

All of his questions were answered when he saw one of the very same creatures which had haunted his dreams since the first grave robbery. And he knew _immediately_ that it was the same thing Alya had seen. Or one of the same things. Or a completely different thing than the things. Which was a little confusing, but- the thought that there were two or three of these zombie things wandering around- or maybe even more. That. That was creepy. 

There were so many questions though. First of all, what _were_ they? Second, how? How was it even possible? And were did they go- what did they do? Did they just aimlessly wander, or did they gather in colonies underground?

Oh, _shit_. _That_ would be creepy.

 

How many were there? What did they want? Were they just Hawkmoth's victims? Did he have something to do with it?

 

_Was he insane?_

 

He certainly thought so when he saw it. Nino had been round at Mari's house playing video games with the others. He was the first of the group to head home, but it was getting pretty late, and what with the recent attacks and... and things, he quite frankly did not want to be walking home in the dark. But by the time he was halfway home the sun had set and a kind of dusky half-light blurred the shadows together and made everything strange and fuzzy. And the drizzling rain didn't help- not to mention the thick fog which seemed to be, worryingly enough, rolling in and hanging low over the streets of Paris.

So Nino walked home with his hood pulled over his head, desperately trying not to draw the attention of- the literal _zero_ other people walking down the road. Well, maybe there was _no_ attention to draw, but- _there was an atmosphere_. He knew that much.

The dim, yellowish street lamps cast long, mournful shadows of the sparsely scattered trees which lined the street, and the shadows merged with the darkness of the dimly lit pavement. 

 

Okay, Nino wasn't particularly superstitious, but there _was_ an atmosphere. It felt gloomy- and eery, as if someone was watching him. Which, after spinning to glance over his shoulder, was confirmed to be true. A dark, huddled figure was moving through the tainted light behind him, but it was almost impossible to tell any of their features from the distance and the drizzly rain.

 

He quickened his pace. After five minutes of almost jogging down the street, Nino hoped to lose sight of the figure- surely it was just an innocent walker, nothing was wrong; but he felt uncomfortable, and wants to distance himself from them. So naturally, a wave of relief washed over him when he looked behind him and there was no one to be seen. So, also naturally, he let out a strangled cry when he turned back to continue home and saw- _something_ , a person?- maybe the same thing which had been walking behind him before, maybe not- but if it was the same thing, the difference was that now he could see its features, up close. He could see all of it, and it was _hideous_.

Its eyes were pale white and seemed to stare right through him- or into his soul, at least- and it's head was devoid of hair. The jaw of the creature seemed too slack, hanging a few centimetres below where it perhaps should have been. There was a greenish grey tinge to the papery skin, a greasy yet crumbling kind of texture- and the _smell_ , good god, it was absolutely _horrendous_ , enough to make Nino gag. It was _rotten_. Quite literally.

And the creatures neck was twisted to the side in a way which it definitely shouldn't have been, the skin hanging loose in places and too tight in others. And the worst parts had no skin at all- in some places Nino could _swear_ he could see through to the bone. 

Needless to say, he absolutely _freaked out._ Nino had to act quickly- he could either turn and run back to Marinette's house, or he could dart past it and get back to his home. Either way would take at least ten minutes, and he wasn't so sure he could outrun this... thing.

 

He chose the latter option, hoping to get home as fast as possible. And he sprinted as fast as he could, not looking over his shoulder once.

As soon as he got there, Nino slammed the door shut behind him and locked it with trembling fingers before running upstairs to call Alya. Flopping down on his bed, he dialled her number, his hands shaking.

"Alya!" he screeched down the phone. "I saw one, I saw it, I-"

He took a moment to get his breath back and tried to suppress a sob, because this was fricking terrifying.

 "Either we're both crazy, we're both in a wacky nightmare, someone is messing with us big-time or there are actually actual real zombies in Paris."

 

***

 

After hanging up, Alya turned to face Adrien and Marinette, who where both waiting anxiously for the phone call to end.

 

"So!" she said with a grave smile. "You guys wanna sleep over here tonight?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhha! Yey
> 
> I'm actually pretty psyched for this fic, even though it's not got the most regular updates- I think it's gonna be fun, especially when Alya gets her hands on an axe or something >:-D
> 
> Hahaha anyways  
> Feedback is 4893% appreciated as usual and I'm @protectchatnoir on tumblr if u wanna chat bout these idiots or miraculous in general or this fic or whateverrrr
> 
> See ya soon! ;D


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things start reeeally happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like the summary said. Things start happening >:-)
> 
> Haha anyways
> 
> Hope you like this chapter! Btw, as I said up there ^^ things start ~happening~ this chapter. And since this is a zombie apocalypse AU, some ppl might find it a bit creepy? I've said before that I'm not rlly sure how to do trigger warnings or whatever coz it's a horror/fantasy AU, so.. read at your own risk, I guess? However I'll point out now that there is gonna be fighting, ergo knives and stuff, ergo might get a liiiiittle gory. I may change archive warnings if it does get too gory, but we'll see.  
> Anyway, enjoy!~  
> ;D

Chapter Five

Even though she and Adrien had slept at Marinette's house, and it was already late morning, Alya was a little worried about walking home. These things- these _zombies_ \- had only been seen at night, as far as they knew. So where did they go during the day? They had to go somewhere, right?

 

It didn't help that last night's fog had never really dissipated, so the light outside was grim and murky. Rain clouds blocked the sun out and cast Paris into a gloomy, grey sort of state.

 

"Thanks for letting us stay over, Mari! I should probably go- my dad will murder me if I'm too late." Adrien chuckled before stopping short, realising it was probably best not to use the M word what with the recent... situations. Pulling away from the window, Alya went over to hug him before turning to Marinette, who was sprawled on her couch.

 

"I should be going too, before it gets any darker."

 

The bluenette sat up, frowning. "Darker? It's, like, eleven in the morning. Why would it get dark-" she glanced at the window to see the dark and cloudy sky, and grimaced. "Okay, maybe it will get darker. Looks like it's gonna get stormy. Well, watch out for zombies, I guess."

 

" _Marinette!_ " Alya hissed.

 

"What?!"

 

" _Don't say it out loud!_ "

 

Adrien shrugged at Mari and descended the steps.

 

"Bye Adrien! Why not? You're the one who said I should accept that there are zo- there are... _things_ happening in Paris. And right now, it kiiiinda looks like you're in denial."

 

"What?! Mari, I saw a- I saw two of them! I'm not in _denial_."

 

"Well, you can't even admit that they're zombies!"

 

"That's not- it's not- it's just... it's a little weird, isn't it? I don't want to admit that there are-" she inhaled sharply- " _zombies_. I don't want to believe it! It's too weird. This shouldn't even be happening!"

Alya swung her bag over her shoulder and moved towards the trapdoor. 

"I should go. Thanks for letting us stay."

 

"No problem. Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I found my Ladybug costume. So if you really want me to be your Mockingjay or whatever, I guess I could."

 

She shook her head. "Marinette, I really appreciate that. But we're not fighting a dumb terrorist anymore. We're fighting- we're- if we're fighting zombies, we're gonna need a lot more than cosplay."

~

Outside of the bakery, Alya found Adrien staring wistfully back at the building.

 

"Hey," she said, approaching him. "You okay?"

 

He sighed. "Marinette is a great friend, right?"

 

"Adrien. If you like her, just ask her out. No big deal!"

 

"Take your own advice," Adrien snorted. "Anyway, that's the problem. She's a great _friend_. A great friend who probably won't ever see me as anything else."

 

"Take my own advice? What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

 

"Oh, nothing. Just that you and Nino's mutual crush is cute and all, but it's about time you guys actually dated."

 

"I do _not_ have a- wait. Nino _likes_ me?"

 

"God, you're as oblivious as Marin- _Alya, look!_ " He pointed down the street to where two figures hunched by a car. The mist was getting thicker, and though it wasn't yet noon, the sky seemed threateningly dark. Alya squeaked in surprise, which drew the two figures' attention. They started slowly moving towards her and Adrien. At that moment, Alya felt paralysed, almost like she'd completely forgotten how to move. Everything in her body told her to _move_ , but she stayed frozen- as did Adrien. 

When the two dark shapes had gotten close enough for Alya to make out their faces, she immediately recognised the rotting, corspe-like features.

 

"Alya, are they--?"

 

" _Yes!"_

 

"What do we do?"

 

" _Run!"_

 

*** 

ALYA (12:01p.m.): where are you??!!

NINO (12:07p.m.): locked in my room. I'm not coming out. Last night was way too scary. I'm not gonna risk getting mauled by dead things.

 

ALYA (12:08p.m.): risk it. I'm in trouble.

 

NINO (12:09p.m.): shit. where r u?

 

ALYA (12:10p.m.): Agreste's. Come quick, bring weapons. Don't come through the front door, we barricaded it and there a 2 zombie things outside 

 

NINO (12:13p.m.): on my way. But... how else am I supposed to get in??!!!!??!

 

NINO (12:17p.m.): ?????

 

ALYA (12:23p.m.): a very famous quote from a very very famous person many hundreds of years ago: 'doors are for people with no imagination'. You'll figure it out.

 

NINO (12:24p.m.): whaaaaat??? 

 

NINO (12:25p.m.): who said that???????

 

NINO (12:29p.m.): ... through the window it is, I suppose.

 

***

 

" _Which drawer?"_

"The second one down!"

 

Alya flung the drawer open and grabbed the knives, dumping them on the kitchen counter. "Okay. We have some knives. Don't suppose you have, like, an axe, or something?"

 

"An axe? _Alya, why the frick would I have an axe?_ "

 

" _I don't know! But if those things get through the barricade-"_

" _The door. It's a door. Not a barricade!_ "

 

" _We piled chairs against it! It is a bloody barricade!"_

Running her fingers through her hair, she turned away from Adrien, hyperventilating slightly.

" _Sorry_. It's just... I'm panicking a little, okay? If those things get through the barricade, door, whatever you want to call it, we might have to..."

 

"Alya..? We're not really going to fight them, are we?"

 

"I... I don't know. Maybe. If they get in, we probably don't have any other choice. But I'm not sure _bread knives_ are going to do the job."

 

Adrien looked like he was going to throw up. 

"Okay. Okay. I have no idea where everyone is. My dad's no where to be seen. I don't know- I don't- _oh god_ , I-"

 

She stepped towards him and pulled him in for a hug.

"Don't worry. It'll be fine. We'll be fine. Worst case scenario, we'll lock ourselves in the bathroom."

 

" _Worse case scenario is us locking ourselves in the bathroom and then them breaking the bathroom door down and eating us!_ "

 

"Hm... I can think of worse. Like, they could-"

 

" _No, no, no!"_

 

"-turn us into zombies and make us eat our friends and families."

 

_"Alya! Stop!"_

He pushed away from her and took a few deep breaths.

"We're not dying today," Adrien declared. "If they get in, we'll take our knives and-"

 

His sentence was cut short by a loud crash from upstairs. 

Alya couldn't help but feel a little nervous- very, very nervous- because what if they'd gotten in through the windows, or...?

 

The two froze in fear with wide eyes as they heard someone- or some _thing_ \- moving down the stairs.

 

 

Nino's face appeared at the kitchen door.

 

" _Nino!_ " Adrien squealed.

 

He grinned. "Bro. We're still alive!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "If we're fighting zombies, we're gonna need a lot more than cosplay."
> 
> ~
> 
> "I'm not gonna risk getting mauled by dead things."
> 
> good lord I love alya and nino 
> 
> Oh boy I cannot wait until next chapter!!!!!!!! Hehehehehe  
> Imma try n write fast and get the next chapters out quickly. 
> 
> I'm having a loooooooad of fun writing this, seriously I only really started this as writing practice but oh ho ho this is fun >:D 
> 
> Hahaaha anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you so much for sticking with me this far!! I'm @protectchatnoir on tumblr if ya wanna find me there, and also any comments/kudos etc is just really appreciated!! :D 
> 
> Have a great day :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya, Nino and Adrien are barricaded inside the Agreste Mansion. They can either wait indoors for the zombies to break in and kill them- or can bring the fight to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo everybody! This chapter is kinda where the action starts happening- so have fun! ;)
> 
> I was thinking of changing the archive warnings to graphic depictions of violence, coz from next chapter I may get a liiiiittle gory... hehe anyways what do you guys think?
> 
> Anyway enjoy this chapter! :)
> 
>  
> 
> Ooh ooh trigger warning right here: 
> 
> there are lots of knives and stabby things in this chapter! No actual stabbing (yet) but lots of stabby things!!

Chapter Six

"You idiot," Alya grinned. "We thought you were a zombie!"

 

"Pfft. And _I'm_ the idiot?"

Nino slipped the plain black backpack off his shoulder and dumped it on the counter next to a small pile of kitchen knives, before turning to face his friends.

 

"Seriously though," he said gravely. "Do we have a plan? What do we do if those things get in?"

 

Alya and Adrien glanced at each other anxiously.

 

"Well..." Adrien began. "There was talk of locking ourselves in the bathroom..."

 

"An excellent last resort. But c'mon guys, we need a plan of attack. I brought weapons-" 

 

Their eyes widened as something crashed in the hallway.

" _Nino, your weapons!"_  Alya hissed. " _Weapons! Now!"_

 

He unzipped the bag and pulled out a dagger, flipping it in his hand.

"I've trained for this my whole life."

 

Closing his eyes, Adrien sighed. "Good lord, you're going to take somebody's eye out."

 

_"Hell yeah I am!"_

 

" _Boys_! Stop! Nino, what else do you have?"

 

Nino turned the bag upside-down and emptied the rest of the weapons. 

Looking somewhat impressed, Alya sifted through them

"Not bad, Lahiffe. I'm calling dibs on the- is this a _bottle opener?"_

 

 _"I panicked, okay?_ I just kinda grabbed whatever I could find and shoved it into a bag!"

 

Adrien picked up a small shovel, eyebrows raised sceptically.

"We're trying to kill them, not bury them, y'know?"

 

_"I panicked!"_

 

"Guys, how do we actually kill them?" Alya asked. "I mean, they're not really alive. So surely just stabbing them won't do anything? Do we need to set them on fire, or something?"

 

Adrien shrugged and hoisted himself up onto the counter to rifle through the pile of miscellaneous tools and instruments which probably wouldn't serve much purpose in battle. He reached for a lone metal knitting needle but his hands froze midway.

 

"Guys. Did anyone call Mari to make sure she's okay?"

 

"She's probably safe, dude. As long as she's in her house-"

 

 _"But we're in a house!"_ Adrien cried. "We are in a house and we are not exactly safe! We barricaded the doors with chairs and there was a noise a minute ago which means they're probably gonna break the front door down in a minute- and if they do, the kitchen door isn't going to keep us safe but we stand a chance because we're prepared but Marinette isn't and she probably doesn't even have weapons-"

 

 _"Adrien, she lives in a bakery! Our weapons are no better than hers, so if she's probably gonna die, that means that we're probably gonna die too!"_ Nino exclaimed.

 

Alya picked up a baseball bat from the pile and waved it threateningly in their faces.

" _Stop it!_ Adrien, I'll text Mari to let her know what's going on. Nino, we're not going to die! Pick a weapon. We'll keep most of them in here as a reserve. Do we want to stay here until they break in, or go out to meet them?"

 

Nino knew that it would be dangerous, and seriously scary. But somehow going outside to fight them seemed less terrifying than sitting around and waiting to be killed.

"We'll take the fight to them." He flipped the dagger again. 

"I'm ready."

 

***

 

Alya rolled her eyes. " _Great_. Can you please stop twirling the knife? I'd rather be eaten by zombies than killed by your cheap circus tricks."

 

"Circus tricks? _Circus tricks?"_

 

"Nino, Alya's right. Put the knife down before you hurt yourself."

 

Alya snorted. "Yeah, Nino. Put the knife down before you hurt yourself!"

 

He ignored both of them and fastened it into its belt, before fastening the belt round his waist. The other two daggers were already in their places.

 

"Um.. Nino?" Adrien began nervously. "Why do you have a belt with three knives in it?"

 

"It's kind of a long story-"

 

"Which you most certainly do _not_ have time to tell now," Alya cut in. "Are we going out, or not?"

 

The two boys nodded. 

"Yeah. We can't exactly go out the door, but we can climb out my bedroom window."

 

"That's how I got in," Nino added. "It's pretty easy. I've got my throwing knives, Alya- baseball bat?"

 

She nodded and whipped out her phone to send Marinette a text message.

ALYA (01:03p.m.): me, nino n adrien are @ adriens house. Kinda barricaded in, 2 zombies outside. Bout to go out n stabby stabby. Stay inside, grab a knife. Stay safe hun

MARINETTE (01:04p.m.): and ur telling me to stay safe????? Don't get killed please!!!!!!!

ALYA (01:06p.m.): I'll try not to ;)

 

"-and Adrien," Nino continued. "What weapon are you using?"

 

"I- I need a weapon? I mean, I need a weapon, but- do we have to go out? Can't we just-"

 

"I thought we'd already agreed?" Alya snapped.

 

"Yeah, I know, I just- okay, I'll take a bread knife. I'll take two, for good measure."

 

Alya smiled to try and lighten the mood a little. "Everybody ready?"

 

Adrien shrugged. "Do we have a choice?"

 

"Nope. Let's go."

~

Alya opened the window and glanced at the ground beneath; it wouldn't be too difficult to get down, and they should be able to get back up again. Still,she felt anxious. What if there were more than just two now? What if there were twelve of them outside the front door? What if they couldn't fight them off- what if they couldn't get back inside to safety in time? 

  Shaking her head in an attempt to clear the worry, Alya glanced back at Nino and Adrien. They both nodded in confirmation and she tucked the baseball bat under one arm, and hauled herself up and out of the window. That was the easy part; now she just had to reach the ground. It wasn't too far, it would be fine, it was just a short drop, just let go-

 

Perhaps just letting go of the window and dropping to the ground wasn't the best idea. Had she been a little more prepared, Alya could've dropped into a roll, or something. But she hadn't really thought about that, and just kind of... dropped. Which resulted in her landing on her shoulder. It didn't hurt too badly, and luckily it wasn't her writing-hand arm so she'd still be able to swing the bat. 

  Alya winced and moved out of the way to allow the other two to get out of the window as well. Nino landed into a roll and Adrien, by some miracle, landed on his feet.

 

Exchanging a conformational glance with her friends, Alya began to make her way to the front door where she and Adrien had left the zombies more than an hour ago. She lifted the baseball bat over her head, ready to charge as soon as they saw them-

 

 ****but they weren't there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUNNNNNN
> 
> hahaha hope you liked this chapter!
> 
> Find me @protectchatnoir on tumblr ;)
> 
> If you could let me know what you think about changing the archive warnings, that would be great- also any other comments/kudos/feedback in general would be very awesome!!! :D 
> 
> Have a great day ;)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been ages but HERE I AM
> 
> So this chapter is where the fun begins (mwahahaha) and where the um.. violence... begins. which brings me onto my point: I updated the warnings and ratings. I've been trying to decide what to do about it for a while I figured it's better safe than sorry, so I put it up to mature and added the graphic depictions of violence warning. Coz... this might get a little bit gross. :)
> 
> Anyway, hope you like this chapter, and PLEASE TAKE THE WARNINGS INTO CONSIDERATION! fighting zombies = stabby stabby gross so please don't ignore the warnings. The warnings are there, heed them. I'm probably being over dramatic but I don't want to upset anyone so yeah, if you don't like gory zombie apocalypse stuff, this might not be for you.  
> But for those of you who are gonna read it anyway, hope you like it!! :)

 

Chapter Seven

 

Alya sighed and cradled her left arm to her stomach. It was started to hurt; she was beginning to think that landing on it like that had caused more damage that she'd initially suspected. 

 

 _"Where are they?"_  Adrien hissed, swinging his two bread knives around wildly. _"Where did they go?"_

 

Shrugging, Alya willed her body to _please stop trembling now._ The adrenaline coursed through her veins as she looked around.

 

"This isn't good, this isn't good," Nino whined. 

 

"It really isn't." Adrien laughed shakily. "Alya, what should we - Alya? Alya, are you okay? Your arm, you're holding- Alya? Can you hear me?"

 

Her friend's words were getting more and more frantic, and Alya opened her mouth to speak but the words were coming too slowly and _her mouth wasn't responding properly-_

"I'm... fine, just... arm - shoulder, when I landed-"

Alya's vision blurred and the floor lurched sideways beneath her. And then she blacked out.

 

***

 

"Oh, no, no, no!" Nino cried, moving forward to catch Alya before she hit the ground. He lowered her slowly to the floor. "Shit, shit, shit!"

 

"Nino. Behind you."

 

Adrien moved in to a defensive stance, raising the knives in front of him.

 

 _Oh, great._ Nino turned around slowly. 

"Seriously? _Seriously?"_ He regarded the single zombie with distaste. Of _course_  one of the zombies would turn up just as one of them had _passed out._ "Damn it, Alya! Wake up!"

Alya sat up suddenly. "What's going on?" she cried, her voice slurring slightly. "Ow, I have pain..." She caught sight of the zombie. "Oh, shit."

 

"Alya, stay there," Adrien commanded. "We can take this thing down."

 

"I can swing a bath. _Bat."_ Alya swore. "I'm fine, just feel a little dizzy from the pain. I can fight."

 

Nino pulled a knife from his belt and threw it at the zombie, which now stood just a few metres in front of them. He tried not the gag at the rotting smell as the dagger tore some flesh loose. He threw another.

"Adrien, bro, my daggers aren't causing massive amounts of damage. Gonna need your-"

 

 _"Coming through with knives!"_  Adrien screamed as he hurled himself at the creature and plunged the bread knives into its chest. Nino winced as Adrien dragged the knives down from its chest to its stomach, spilling its insides on the ground. The zombie seemed to wither and shrink in on itself before collapsing in a pile of dishevelled skin and foul odours. 

Nino covered his mouth with his hand. "I think I'm going to be sick," he said weakly.

 

"Ugh, my knives. I need my knives. I don't want to touch them now." Adrien frowned. "Can I borrow a dagger?"

 

"Dude, I threw two thirds of them. There's only one left." Nino sighed and went to retrieve the other two. "You can have the clean one, I guess."

 

"Is it... dead? I mean, is it more dead than before?" Alya asked. 

 

No one answered her for a few minutes. Nino silently passed the clean dagger to Adrien. "Um... I think it's dead. But seriously. _Dude._ That was _awesome!_ And... really kind of gross."

 

Adrien nodded. "Thanks. Yeah, I think it's dead. More dead. Guys, there's still one out here, right? We need to find it before it finds us."

 

The three of them moved around the side of the building until they reached the front door - and found the second of the zombies still hammering at the door, which had now shattered in several places.

 

"Alya, is your arm okay?" Nino whispered.

 

"I don't think it's broken," she whispered back. "But it hurts a little. I can defend myself though, so don't worry about me."

 

The zombie stopped hammering at the door and sniffed the air. It turned to face them with an inhuman screech and lunged. Adrien darted backwards, narrowly avoiding the yellowing teeth, as Nino impaled its side with a dagger.

 

It pushed past him with a hiss and jumped towards Alya. She raised the bat and, with some kind of ungodly battle cry, she smashed it into the zombie's skull. A sickening crack was heard and the creature wobbled before crashing to the ground. Alya raised the baseball bat again and brought it down on the zombie's face once, twice, at least six times, beating the thing's head into a bloody pulp. 

Nino jumped backwards as chunks of skin flew at him. "Ugh, gross! Alya, I think it's dead already."

She shrugged nonchalantly. "I just wanted to be sure."

 

Glancing over to make sure that Adrien was okay, Nino realised that his friend looked visibly sick. 

"Oh my God," Adrien whispered. "Oh, hell, holy shit - oh, no, that's-"

Adrien threw up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .....ugh Alya can you not 
> 
>  
> 
> Haha anyway sorry for that slightly disgusting zombie fighting. It will.. probably... get worse... hah.. anywayyyy!!! I'm @protectchatnoir on tumblr, and see you next chapter I guess!! ;)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We'll be fine. Probably."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty slow but I gotta beat this writer's block somehow so sHRUG

Chapter Eight

 

"Are you okay, Adrien?" Alya asked.

 

"Sure," he replied, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "How's your shoulder?"

 

"It's seen better days, I guess."

She glanced at Nino. He looked... uncomfortable. When Alya reached out to pat his arm affectionately, Nino flinched and backed away.

 

Withdrawing her hand, she frowned, and shook her head slowly. "What's up, Nino? You don't look so good."

 

"N- nothing. Nothing's up. Nothing. It's just - _dude._  You obliterated that thing's _face."_

 

"Wow, Nino, that's a big word," Adrien remarked before doubling over to throw up again. Nino shot him a dirty look before continuing. 

 

"I'm just _saying_ , that was, like... kind of scary. But also really badass. _Way_ badass."

 

Alya shrugged, and winced a little as pain shot through her left arm. "Uh, thanks? But guys, we should probably get inside. Just in case there are any more... you know. Adrien, are you done throwing up? Good. Come on, let's go."

 

They couldn't get through the front door due to their barricade, so the three of them had to climb back through Adrien's window. Once safely inside, Alya drew the blinds - something about having the windows covered made her feel more safe. She glanced down at her clothes; they were dirty from landing on the ground and speckled with blood.

"Adrien, I don't suppose you have any clothes I can change into?"

 

"Sure. You can use the shower if you want. There are clean towels in the bathroom - and take a look in my wardrobe. But - guys... what now? What are we supposed to do after this? I mean, surely we can't just go back to living as we did before. Everything is different now."

 

Nino dropped his belt and the daggers on the floor before sinking on to the couch.

"I don't know, man. I guess we invest in a motorcycle and call it the zombie apocalypse."

 

Alya snorted and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

 

***

 

"Nino, I'm serious! What's next?"

 

Nino closed his eyes. Adrien was right. What _was_ next? Sure, they'd slaughtered a couple of zombies. Sure. But there were probably more, right? There were probably more. And... no one else knew. Nobody knew that there were zombies out there. They would all be going about their daily lives, unaware of the threat that-

 

"Adrien, can I borrow your computer?" he asked, jumping to his feet.

 

"Yeah, of course. Why do you need it?"

 

"No one knows. No one else knows that we''re in danger."

 

Adrien's eyes widened and he moved over to his computer to turn it on. "Right. So we need to tell them. Nino, we'll film a video and send it to the news station." Adrien whipped out his phone and pointed it at Nino, who readjusted his hat anxiously. "Okay, three, two, one, go."

 

"Uh, hi! Hey. Um, hello, citizens of Paris. I'm Nino Lahiffe and I'm reporting to you from the Agreste mansion. So, you've probably heard the jokes about zombies recently. Well, we are here to tell you that the jokes _aren't_ jokes. There are zombies roaming the streets of Paris. We - Adrien Agreste, Alya Césaire and myself - know this because we've seen them. We just took two of them down. This is not a joke. This is not a drill. Make sure you have plenty of food and supplies. If you need to leave the house, move in large groups. Safety in numbers, people. Gather weapons. Lock your doors. Peace out!"

 

Adrien stopped recording. "Really? 'Peace out'? That- never mind. I'm going to post this on every social media platform I have and then I'm going to email it to the news station. Or, uh, the other way around."

 

"Okay." Nino sat back down. "So, we're spreading the word. That's good. But... are we safe here? We should probably start reinforcing the barricade and making sure we have plenty of food."

 

"You're right," Adrien muttered, uploading the video from his phone on to the computer. "I know that we have a lot of food in the basement."

 

"You have a basement?"

 

"Yeah. It's where we store... a lot of food."

 

"Oh... kay. Food in the basement. We'll go and have a look when Alya's got some clean clothes. And then we can start to strengthen the barricade, right?"

 

"Right. Sounds like a plan." Adrien clicked something on the computer and turned to face Nino. "Alright, I've sent it to the several reporters. If things go smoothly, the video should get streamed on live TV within the hour."

 

Nino nodded. "Good. Good. So... are you gonna post it on your social media accounts as well?"

 

"Yep, that's what I'm doing next." He turned back to the screen and began posting the video.

 

The bathroom door opened and Alya stepped out, wrapped in a towel. "Adrien, I'm stealing some of your clothes," she declared. Adrien only hummed in response, distracted with posting the video.

A moment later she returned dressed in blue jeans and a black t-shirt.

 

"These are comfy!"

 

"They're designer," Adrien replied distractedly.

 

"Oh, well let's hope I don't get zombie flesh on them then!"

The boys stayed silent, and Alya groaned. "Guys, that was a joke. Come on. Hey, what's gotten into you? Sure, our lives are in danger, but look on the bright side! We've made it through so far. We'll be fine. Probably."

 

Nino sighed. "Let's hope so. Hey, Al, we filmed a video of me talking about the zombies. Adrien is uploading it now. We're trying to broadcast it all over the city so everybody knows what's going on."

 

"Oh, that's great. We need everyone to be prepared, just in case the situation gets any worse," Alya said with a small sigh.

 

"It's already getting worse." Adrien stood up from his seat at the computer and folded his arms across his chest. "Guys, this is bad. _Really_ bad. There have been more than fifteen reported sightings of horrifyingly grotesque creatures around the city in the past  _hour."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short and probably boring chapter y'all xD I'll try and get some proper writing out soon


End file.
